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"As for Charlie, he felt a bit of a back spasm and it was decided it was best he came back to us straight away instead of travelling all the way out to Macedonia."

Geoff Cameron is also back earlier than expected from international duty after being booked for the United States in their World Cup qualifier against Costa Rica four days ago, which earned him a suspension.

"We have all our back four in the building and that gives us a chance to work on things ahead of the Man City game," added Bowen.

"We tell the lads what is expected of them defensively, but that's as far as it goes.

"When you've just won three games on the bounce like we have, I think you have to look to take the game to the opposition, especially at home. We can afford to go into the game and try to concentrate on what we can do to them."

Meanwhile, Stephen Ireland has been pulled out of a possible appearance for Stoke's under-21 development side in a home game against Barnsley this afternoon.

The management team would rather control his workload in training as he progresses towards full fitness.

Ireland is also protecting a slight ankle injury requiring injections after he picked up the problem while training on his own in pre-season.